1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to telephony and to computers and, more particularly, to methods and systems for providing privacy screening service during live telephone calls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Companies and governments are trying prevent telemarketing calls. Nearly everyone has experienced an annoying telemarketing call, and every year many people are defrauded by telemarketers. Many products, such as the TELEZAPPER™, attempt to reduce telemarketing calls (TELEZAPPER is a trademark of the Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company, www.royalappliance.com). The United States Federal Trade Commission and many state governments have created “Do Not Call” lists/registries that make it illegal for telemarketers to call a phone number on the list.
Telecommunications service providers also offer services that reduce telemarketing calls. BellSouth Corporation, for example, offers PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service (PRIVACY DIRECTOR® is a registered trademark of BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation). This service tries to prevent unwanted calls, such as telemarketing calls, from ringing a subscriber's phone. This PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service does not connect a call when the calling telephone number is private. That is, the telecommunications switch recognizes when the calling telephone number is marked private, so Caller ID cannot recognize the calling telephone number. The PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service requires the calling party to i) unblock their telephone number or ii) announce their name. If the calling party unblocks their telephone number, then the calling telephone number is delivered with the call and the subscriber's Caller ID displays the number. If the calling party decides to announce their name, the telephone call is routed to a media server. The media server plays an announcement that asks the calling party to record their name. The recorded name is delivered to the called party. The called party, prior to acceptance of the call, hears the recorded name of the calling party. The called party then has the option to accept the call. This PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service puts the called party in control as the recipient of the calls.
Now, however, telemarketers have learned to bypass the PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service. Telemarketers have begun to use public telephone numbers. That is, telemarketers are getting around the PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service by unblocking their caller ID. The telemarketer's telephone number, then, is public as opposed to private. Because the telemarketer's telephone number is public, the PRIVACY DIRECTOR® service does not prevent a connection to the called party. The Caller ID service displays the calling telephone number, the subscriber answers the call, and the subscriber is then subjected to the telemarketer's unwanted proposal.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for rejecting telemarketing calls in real time after a connection is made. Consumers must have a quick and convenient way of disposing of telemarketers during a live telephone call. Consumers must be able to reject a telemarketer without prolonging the conversation. There is also a need for rejecting telemarketing calls that appeals to those consumers that, by their nature, tend to be more polite and want to let the telemarketer “down easy.”